You Can't Always Get What You Want
by Catalyst's Cradle
Summary: As I walked toward the edges of the gym, I glanced around to see whether David had worked up the guts to ask his Flower Girl to dance yet. That's when I saw her.
1. Chapter 1

"Alright Dave," I announced. "Tonight, you and I are gettin' laid!"

"You always say that, Paulo," David replied. I looked over at my chocolate lab companion to see him rolling his eyes as he pedaled his bike down the road. He wore a black tie that was thrown over his shoulder, flopping around behind him like a comically small cape.

"Yeah, but tonight's different," I responded, shaking my head. As my face turned from side to side, I could feel the cool evening air brushing through the fur on my cheeks. We were in that small window of opportunity between winter and summer that was absolutely perfect to be riding around town – warm enough that you wouldn't freeze your ass off outside but still cool enough that you wouldn't be drenched in sweat after speeding through the streets. And while the weather was awesome during this time of year, the best part about spring was that which was yet to come. You see, in just a few days, school would be out, and we wouldn't have to deal with teachers or homework or tests for months. And if that wasn't reason enough to be excited, tonight was the farewell dance for all the graduating eighth graders. Yeah, school dances were usually cheesy as hell and sucked, but this one was going to be different. "It's the final dance of freakin' middle school! After tonight, we're practically high schoolers. This is our chance, man! C'mon, don't tell me there isn't anyone in the school you've got your eyes on."

"Flower Girl." David briefly released his handle bars to clasp his hands together. "My beautiful princess."

"Whose name you don't even know!"

"Hey! I'm working on that."

"Well, you'd better get on it quick, man. You never know when a dashing, young Somali will sweep her—"

"You stay away from mah flower girl!" David growled.

I jumped up out of my seat for a sec, causing my bike to swerve around. I quickly regained my balance and settled back down. "Relax dude," I replied. David was relatively harmless, but I don't deal with growling very well. "I was just kidding around. She's not even my type." That was a bit of a lie. She was good looking, for a dog, and I certainly couldn't blame David for having such a huge crush on her. "But hey, tonight's your chance: the day you're finally gonna find out her name and dance with her. Maybe she'll even let you play around with her flower, if ya' know what I mean."

"Yeah!" I could see David's tail wagging excitedly as he thought about his _precious_ _flower girl_. "So Paulo, who do you got your eyes on?"

"You know me Dave, I'm never gonna get tied down to one girl. I'm after 'em all tonight." David shot me a menacing stare. "Except for flower girl," I quickly added.

"Really…" David replied as a goofy grin spread across his face. "What about Lucy?"

"Man, Lucy's not even gonna be at the dance." Lucy was a friend of ours, and man was she so smokin' hot. But, for whatever reason, Lucy seemed to hate these kinds of events. Too bad, 'cause if she were coming to the dance I'd totally bang her first. And second. And maybe even third…

We rounded a corner, and my eyes followed the line of glowing, yellow street lamps towards the horizon where the silhouette of the school rose up against the crimson sky. The sight of that concrete prison usually inspired thoughts of dread and revulsion – it was a sign that you were about to be bored out of your mind for the next eight hours. But tonight, well, tonight was the rare occasion where I couldn't wait to get to school.

"Hey Dave, last one there buys the winner a can of blasto!" I shouted as I hopped out of my seat and began pedaling furiously.

"Hey, no fair!" I heard David yell.

The pavement rushed beneath my tires as I sped out ahead. Glancing up, I could see the road completely devoid of cars. Good, all that was separating us from our goal was three blocks of asphalt: no turns, no obstacles, just a straight shot directly to the school. Pure speed would be all that it took to win.

Looking behind me, I saw that I had managed to get a sizeable lead on David, but he was beginning to catch up. Man, that guy's fast. Not wanting to let David close the gap between us, I cranked my bike into its highest gear. The derailleur made its familiar clicking sound as it guided the chain onto the next set of sprockets, and I felt my legs strain against the increased resistance of the pedals.

The road flew beneath my tires, and I focused straight ahead, ignoring the houses, trees, and occasional classmates blurring through the periphery of my vision. My body had only one concern at that moment: to pound down those pedals as fast as I could. C'mon, just two more blocks to go. I lowered my head and spun my legs as quickly as they could go, trying to maintain my lead. But I could hear David's panting grow louder as he closed in on me, and soon his brown silhouette had crept into the corner of my eye.

With only one more block to go, we were neck and neck. My legs muscles protested with every stroke they took, but David didn't seem tired at all. It seemed inevitable that he'd pull ahead and win (once again!), allowing him to brag about it for the rest of the night. Just when my energy was beginning to fade, however, I finally caught a lucky break.

"Hey guys!" a friendly voice called out to us from the sidewalk.

I saw David pause his pedaling to turn and wave. Now's my chance! Ignoring the burning sensation in my legs, I raced forward, passing David while he was distracted.

"Eat my dust David!" I shouted as I rode out in front of him, retaking the lead. Just in time, too – we arrived at the school shortly after. Still moving at a considerable pace, I rode up onto the sidewalk toward the front of the school. I was coming in parallel to the bike racks, so I slammed on my rear brake. The back wheel locked, and I leaned leftward, sending the back tire fishtailing around as the bike skidded to a stop. When everything came to rest, the bike was now perfectly perpendicular to the bike rack, ready to be locked into place.

As I saw David pull into the bike racks, I puffed out my chest and raised my arms in victory. It's not every day I got to beat David at a race like this. "Who's the man!" I shouted.

"Wow! That was so cool!"

I hopped off my bike and turned to see our friend Daisy running toward us. She was all dressed up for the dance, wearing a blue dress which, unlike the outfits other girls in our class would normally wear, did not show off as much cleavage and was hemmed much longer. As she neared, her curly, cream-colored fur bounced up and down with each step, exhibiting almost as much excitement as she was. Her ever-cheerful expression always seemed to radiate an overabundance of optimism, but man, today she was just _glowing_.

"Yo Daisy. Excited about tonight?" I asked.

"Of course! Oh, I hope you two like this year's theme. I helped pick it out!"

"What is it? Pirates of the Caribbean?" asked David.

"No, silly! It's 'Cinderella's Ball,' a night when dreams come true," Daisy replied with a dramatic flourish.

"Man, that's the girliest thing I've heard all day," I replied.

Daisy giggled. "Well I happen to like all those girly things. Isn't it so romantic?" she asked as she twirled around, the frilly fabric from her dress ruffling in the air. "Everyone dancing around dressed in their fancy evening gowns, just like in those royal balls in all the fairy tales." She paused for a second, and gave me a funny look. "Hey Paulo, why aren't you dressed up for tonight?"

"Why does everyone make a big deal about gettin' all dolled up? I mean, you all look fine without those fancy clothes."

"Aww, come on Paulo, it's fun to get dressed up for special occasions like this. Even Davie got dressed up."

"My tie makes me look elegant," said David.

"Pft, I don't need no stinkin' tie for tonight," I replied. Besides, all I had to wear were my dad's oversized dress shirts, and I'd probably look pretty stupid wearing those old things. "All I need are my irresistible charm and my new dance moves."

"Ooh, I wanna see your new moves," Daisy replied. She then craned her neck to look behind David and me and waved. I turned to see our friends Sue and Amaya getting out of Sue's mom's minivan.

"Anyway, I'm going to go say hi to Suzie and Amaya. I'll see you two inside," Daisy said as she ran off to greet the other girls. I watched as she bound over to then and hopped with that endless amount of excitement as she spoke with them.

I had to admit that her enthusiasm was kind of contagious. Although I was already pretty stoked for the dance, seeing Daisy like that reminded me how eager I was for this night to get started. Maybe she was right. Corny as it might sound, maybe tonight would be a night when dreams would come true.

"Admit it. You've totally got a crush on her."

I quickly turned to see David snickering behind me.

"What the hell, man!"

"I saw the way you were staring at Sue," David replied with a wink. "And hey, I don't blame you. She's pretty cute."

I just rolled my eyes and laughed. "Isn't she some kind of lesbian?"

"Wait, she is?"

"Whatever. Even if she isn't, I can do _so_ much better than her." I finished locking up my bike then I looked toward David and motioned toward the school. "C'mon Dave, let's get this party started."


	2. Chapter 2

David and I made our way into the school and headed for the gymnasium, where all of the festivities were being held. With each step I took down the hallway, I could hear the hip hop beats inside the gym growing louder. Walking down that corridor, staring at the doors, knowing what awaited us inside – I could barely contain myself; I just wanted to sprint down the hall and burst into the gym. Somehow I managed to keep my cool, and David and I soon found ourselves at the entrance to the gymnasium. We paused briefly at the threshold and exchanged a brief glance before I pushed open the double doors. As we strode into the darkened gymnasium, I could feel the bass pulse throughout the room, hear the electronic melody fill the air, and see the crowd move along with the beat.

"Yeah, that's my song!" shouted David excitedly.

I shook my head at David as I checked the place out. Despite the inordinate amount of plastic streamers and all the other cheap decorations, the place still looked like the same old, smelly gym. Sure they tried to cover up things like the bleachers and the scoreboard, but c'mon, you could still see all the markings on the floor from the basketball court! Well, at least they had enough sense to put up a disco ball. Around it, some glittery stars hung from the rafters as if to give the impression that we were out under a starry night sky. If they really wanted to give that impression, maybe they should have held the dance, you know, outside.

At any rate, the decorations weren't the reason I was here. I looked around at all of my classmates mulling about. Like a typical middle school dance, the girls occupied the center of the dance floor, keeping to themselves. Only a few brave boys – along with those lucky enough to have girlfriends – mingled with the ladies. The rest mostly stood around the edges drinking punch, chatting with each other, and eyeing the girls. I joined my classmates in checking out the babes.

"Ooh, this looks like a hot party," I remarked to David. "So many girls."

"And fruit punch," replied David, enthusiastically motioning toward the table near the back of the room holding a large bowl of red liquid.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Yeah, you go drink your punch. I'll be out on the dance floor getting some action," I said as I strode out to the middle of the gym.

* * *

"So babe, whaddya' say we blow this joint and get involved in some extracurricular activities?"

"Eww, get away from me pervert!"

_Slap!_

My face still stinging from the pain of rejection, I made my way over to the punch bowl where David was still standing. I snatched a plastic cup from the table and inspected the syrupy red liquid inside before taking a sip.

"Is this a fun party or what?" David exclaimed as he downed another cup of punch.

"Eh, it's alright."

"You manage to score yet?"

Man, I spent the past hour flirting with all the chicks, but all I had to show for it was a sore cheek and a bruised ego. "Nah, not yet." Despite having made out with so many girls throughout the school year, things just weren't working out so great tonight. What's wrong with me today? Does my breath skink? Is my hair messed up? I mean, when I'd approach a girl, things would mostly go well (the last encounter excepted). We'd chat, dance around a bit, and do some flirting, but nothing more than that happened. Well, things did go pretty smoothly with that one really hot Brazilian shorthair chick. We were really hitting it off, and I could totally tell she was into me. We definitely would have made out right there on the dance floor if she weren't so shy about kissing in public. So instead, I suggested we make our way over to some dark corner of the school to get to know each other a little better. We were just about to sneak out of the gym to go find a janitor's closet or something until our teacher caught us trying to sneak out. Nothing kills the mood more than a ranting lecture on chlamydia.

Ugh, and then there was that bulldog. I know I had made out with her earlier in the year, but man, what was I thinking? I coulda sworn she was at least twenty pounds lighter back then, and maybe two times less ugly. Apparently, she enjoyed the first time we made out, and unfortunately, she wasn't as shy about kissing in public. I practically had to claw myself free from that crazy bitch and spend the next ten minutes dodging through the crowd trying to lose her. Man, why can't any of the _hot _girls ever be the one's chasin' me around!

The rest of my encounters were not so dramatic. Sometimes they'd be fun, sometimes they'd be kinda awkward, but mostly they'd all end in failure. A lot of chicks turned me down because they already had a date. God, whose lame idea was it that you were supposed to bring a date to these kinds of dances? Things are no fun when you can't just hit on all the hot babes in the school.

As I took another swig of punch, I looked out toward the middle of the gymnasium and some of the couples dancing out there. This one couple was all lovely-dovely with each other – you know, the kind of couple that acted all annoyingly sweet, were always together, and had to perpetually remind everyone around them about how much they freakin' adored each other. The way they gazed into each other's eyes and promenaded around seemingly surrounded by their own shell of happiness was just sickening. I wish I were out there on the dance floor just so I could just stick out my leg and trip them as they pranced around so obliviously. What losers! At least they weren't as hopeless as the one really awkward couple on the other side of the room. Those two were obviously friends who didn't want to go to the dance alone but couldn't find anyone else to go with. I loved watching the humorous interplay as they tried to figure out exactly how to treat each other, especially since the guy obviously wanted to upgrade the relationship while the girl was clearly put off by that same idea. The politics of where to put one's hands, the back-and-forth negotiations about how closely to stand, and the ensuing awkwardness as the guy violated the girl's comfort zone amused me to no end. No matter how hard he tried, that dude was not going to be getting any action from her.

Yet even though I stood there chuckling at those two couples, they at least had someone for tonight. For all the flings I had this year, something about it all still felt incomplete. Don't get me wrong, making out with all those girls was great, especially when I got a chance to grab some ass or feel some titties. But I dunno, it's weird how such a satisfying experience can feel so unsatisfying afterward. Just a fling, that's all that they were: a few moments of passion, some hot and heavy action, and then it was all over. Now I'm not one of those mushy romantics like Daisy, but sometimes I was just tired of the whole ladies man act. That's all it was, an act, because behind those make out sessions, there wasn't anything real.

"You better get a move on if you wanna score tonight," David said, interrupting my thoughts. "Right, Paulo?"

"Oh, um, yeah," I replied. "Right."

I sighed as I looked around the gym again, trying to pick out the girls who I hadn't already struck out with. At least making out with some random chick would better than standing here by the punch bowl like some giant loser. I scanned the crowd and picked out a few cute girls that I'd try to hit on, but over at the other end of the table, I saw Daisy approaching Sue (and no, before you ask, I was not checking either of them out). It's just that something was different about Daisy. Unlike earlier in the day, she lacked that bounce in her step as the moved, and her bright smile was now replaced by a worried frown.

"Suzie, have you seen Mikie around anywhere?" I overheard her ask.

Sue shook her head. I glanced around the gym and saw no sign of Mike or that gay scarf that he always wore. Figures he'd pussy out and pass up a chance like this to score with all the ladies who were always trying to claw their way into his pants. Man, if all the girls fawned over me in the same way, I'd have bagged so many chicks tonight. Ha, what a loser to miss such a golden opportunity! He's probably at home reading some lame book or something. I raised my cup to take another sip of punch, but as I held the cup to my lips, I paused. You know, I bet I know what Mike's up to. The dude's a smart guy, and he knows that Lucy's not coming to this stupid dance. He's probably made up some sly excuse to go over to see Lucy. And of course, Lucy will just play along because we all know that – no matter how much she denies it – she really wants him. Then one thing leads to another and Mike gets laid while I'm still stuck here at this lame-ass dance.

I slammed my cup down onto the table. Screw you, Mike! I'm in a room full of hot chicks all for the taking. Forget all that romantic crap – I am going to get some ass tonight! I'll show him who the real man is. And this time, I think I've got foolproof plan.

I walked innocently out to the main scene, letting a smug smile cross my face as I congratulated myself for my brilliant plan. Like before, the dance floor teemed with girls, and in the time since the party began, it had gotten pretty crowded. I pretended to try to squeeze through the crowd, using the opportunity to feel around.

"Coming through!" I shouted as I grabbed a hold of one of the girls by the waist.

Well, who's this? Oh, Amaya. The orange tabby stared at me with a quizzical look on her face. Now there's a kitty with a cute face—too bad she's a bit too flat for my tastes. I let her go and moved onto the next girl.

"Excuse me"

Katie! Now, there's a girl who's not lacking in cleavage. As I slipped behind her, I managed to grab a little squeeze. Mmm, so soft! Katie obviously didn't appreciate my touchiness, so she turned and slapped me across the face. Yeah, too bad she's always such a bitch. Well, let's see who else is out there.

"Pardon me, just passing through."

Hello Stacy! Now there's a good combination of a cute face and a nice rack. Ooh, and quite a firm ass too! I gave her a seductive purr to which she responded with a shy smile. I was about to put my patented moves on her when Katie grabbed her arm and yanked her away. Man, she needs to get some better friends!

"'Scuse me"

I squeezed through the crowd and, coming up behind a pretty hot girl, I casually stuck my foot between hers, causing her to tumble into my waiting arms. Why, hello there pretty lady. I smiled devilishly at her, but she quickly got back to her feet and moved away a bit sheepishly. Man, what's with it with all these shy girls! Let's see who else is out here.

"Pardon me"

Ooh, who's this? Man, this dog's got a fine, slender body. And her face is pretty cute as well. Now where have I seen her before? Those floppy ears and those flowers in her hair reminded me of—

Wait, flowers?

Oh shit.

That's when I heard a low, menacing growl behind me. And then all I could hear was barking. _Barking._ **BARKING!**


	3. Chapter 3

My heart was still racing and my body just couldn't stop shaking. Sitting in the hallway outside of the gym, I took deep breath after deep breath, trying to calm down. I shut my eyes and covered my ears in an attempt to banish the incessant barking that reverberated through my mind. Slowly, the tremors running through my arms and legs subsided a little, and I reopened my eyes to the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights against the linoleum floor. Resting my back against the gymnasium wall, I could feel rumbling from the music inside. I glanced over to the closed doors where I could hear the sounds of all my classmates having fun and laughing. Yeah, they were probably all laughing at me.

Why do I always have to be such a goddamned coward when it comes to barking? Why did I have to run out of the gym crying like that? I can't go back in there, right? Not after that. I could just hear all of the names that they'd be calling me: crybaby, 'fraidy cat, wuss. Beside, no girl would want to be seen with a friggin' coward like me.

Slumped down in the hallway, tears still running down my cheek, I felt like a pathetic, scared, little child – like my sixth-grade self after being ambushed by that gang of dogs. I guess it's just fitting that tonight ended the same way that middle school began, with me bawling my eyes out because of my lame phobia. I let out a sigh as I remembered that day. Back then I promised myself that something like this would never happen again, that somehow I'd become stronger or braver. Well so much for that promise. And so much for tonight.

I leaned my head back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling tiles. This night has been such a failure. I should just go home before it gets any worse.

I picked myself up off the floor and began walking down the hallway toward the exit. As my footsteps echoed down the long corridor, I heard the door to the gym squeak open behind me and the music from inside the gym pour into the hallway. Shit, someone's coming out. I tensed up, imagining that a group of the guys were going to give me a hard time about what had just happened. I quickly wiped the remaining tears from my eyes and glanced over my shoulder.

Fortunately, I saw a familiar cream-colored cat in a blue dress peering out from the door instead.

"Daisy, what are you doing out here?"

Daisy lacked her usual cheerful smile as she stepped out into the hallway, letting the door swing closed behind her. "Oh I, uh," she looked up at me and paused, "I saw what happened in there."

"Oh." I didn't really feel like talking about it at the moment, feeling content to leave the issue floating in the silence between us. Only the muted beats from inside the gymnasium permeated the corridor.

"You're not leaving, are you?" Daisy asked.

"I dunno, maybe. This dance is getting kinda lame."

Daisy ran over and grabbed a hold of my arm. "But Paulo, you can't leave yet!"

"Daisy..."

"You're not mad at Davie, are you?"

"No. Of course not." I looked down at Daisy as she hung onto my arm. "He was doing what any guy woulda done. It was my fault. I'm just a freakin' idiot and a coward."

"No, you're not."

"You saw what happened in there!"

"So? Nobody cares." I gave her a skeptical look. "Well, _I_ don't care! Come on, Paulo, is that what's bothering you? Are you afraid that people will tease you about your fear of barking?"

"Yeah, like I care what they think." It was now Daisy's turn to give me a skeptical look. "Okay, okay, I am a little sensitive about that, but that's not the whole reason."

"Well then, what's bothering you?" Daisy kept tugging at my arms insistently. "Are you…" Her voice dropped a bit. "Are you upset that Lucy isn't here?"

Daisy's question caught me off guard. Why should I care whether Lucy was here or not? It's not like she's the only girl I was after. Sure, she was the hottest girl in school, the one I had been crushing on ever since I moved to this town, but there were so many other girls who were just as attractive and fun to be around like… like—well, that's not important right now.

"Paulo?"

"Oh, er, no, I'm not upset about that. It's just…" I paused to try and find some way to communicate the emotions racing through my mind at this point: the kick in the balls I felt from all the rejections tonight, the shame of acting like such a coward at David's barking. And maybe Daisy was right – maybe I did really resent knowing that Lucy would always be hopelessly crushing on Mike. It's not like I couldn't get _any_ girls. Hey, I got to second base with the head cheerleader! But when it came to the girls I actually freakin' cared about, they were all crushing on someone else. Yeah, I always played the cool and aloof ladies man and it was irresistible to some, but what does it tell you when the girls who know you best only have eyes for Mike? It really fucking sucks knowing that you're not good enough – that you'll never be good enough – for them.

All this dance did was remind me of how it all made me feel so goddamned unwanted. Sure, I could always point to the fact that I've made out with so many more girls than Mike, but it just wasn't the same. None of that was anything real. It was just my way of coping with the fact that I couldn't get what I really wanted. But tonight, even the hotties I chased after exactly _because _I had no feelings for them didn't want any part of me.

I looked down at Daisy and sighed. "This dance has just really sucked."

"But you were so excited about tonight, almost as excited as I was. It's the big farewell-to-middle-school dance. It's supposed to be special, right?"

"I'm just not feelin' it tonight," I said as I tugged my arm away from her grasp and walked across the hallway toward the windows. I leaned my forearms against the windowsill and stared out into the darkness. But against the harsh glow of the fluorescent lights illuminating the hallway, all I could see out through the glass was my own reflection – a moody, slightly disheveled face staring back at me.

Man, you really look pathetic, don't you? Listen to Daisy, dude: it's the final freakin' dance of middle school! Is this how you want to remember tonight, moping around like some sissy emo kid? _Boo hoo, I'm a frickin' coward. Boo hoo, I'm gonna be all alone tonight._ That's bullshit and you know it.

I refocused my vision on the window, and behind my reflection, I saw Daisy. Like so many times before, she noticed when something was wrong with me, she came after me, and now, she was here to try and make me feel better.

"Paulo, please don't leave," Daisy said as she placed her hand on my shoulder.

I turned to face her, and looked down into her big brown eyes. She knew full well I couldn't resist that face.

"Fine, Daisy," I replied. "I'll stay."

"Yay!" Daisy's face lit up as she leapt up with excitement and grabbed a hold of my arm again. "Hey, why don't you show me your new dance moves that you've been talking about!"

Before I could respond Daisy dragged me back into the gymnasium. But as we entered and made our way toward the dance floor, I couldn't help but notice that Daisy was smiling again.


	4. Chapter 4

"…and that's how you C-walk," I said, as I finished showing Daisy some of my new dance moves.

"Wow! Where'd you learn to dance like that?"

"My cousin in Marashino taught me," I replied. "It's what they're all doing up in the city."

"So cool!"

I continued showing her a few of my dance moves until she excused herself to go freshen up. As she walked towards the restrooms, I caught myself smiling.

Ok, I had to admit that I was actually having a bit more fun now. Between being able to show off my new dance moves to just hanging out with Daisy and David, I was kinda beginning to enjoy this dance. Yeah, chasin' after all the hotties was fun every once and a while, but I guess sometimes you get so caught up in it all that you overlook the people who really are important to you. Sometimes friends like Daisy and David were all a guy could ever need. Besides, hanging out with them involved so much less drama and so many fewer bruised egos.

That still didn't keep me from feeling a twinge of jealousy when I spied that annoyingly happy couple from earlier passing by.

I turned around, putting them out of sight. Wanting to get my mind on something else, I searched the room for David and found him ducking behind group football players, trying to look all secretive and failing miserably.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked.

"Shh! She'll hear you."

"Who?"

"Flower girl," he replied in that hopelessly lovestruck tone he always used when talking about her.

I peered through the crowd and saw David's flower girl chatting with her friend.

"Dude, grow a pair and go ask her to dance."

"One does not simply walk up to flower girl!"

"What are you talking about? You just gotta remember what I've been telllin' you about acting cool and shit. The ladies eat that all up."

A stifled laugh interrupted me. I wheeled around to see Sue standing with her arms folded across her chest wearing a smug grin on her always so self-righteous face.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Give me break," she replied. "What do you know about what we want?"

"Hey, I happen to be an expert on picking up chicks."

"_Right._" Sue rolled her eyes. "That sure explains why you couldn't even get a date for tonight."

Owch, Sue. That one was below the belt. David chuckled at Sue's remark.

"Hey, I don't need a date to get some action tonight," I shot back. "Besides, I don't see any guys lining up to dance with you."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing. I'm perfectly content to avoid any relationship drama and just enjoy this dance with my best friend Amaya," she replied, placing her arm over Amaya's shoulder.

I nudged David with my elbow. "See, I told ya' she was a lesbo."

"Hey, I heard that!"

Sue reached out to smack me, but I was long gone, having scampered out into the crowd, laughing. As I darted between bodies, I heard the hip hop beats begin to slow as the DJ changed tracks. An audible sigh stretched out across the gymnasium as the dreaded slow song came over the speakers. I joined the mass exodus of students from the dance floor, leaving only the couples out to dance. As I walked toward the edges of the gym, I glanced around to see whether David had worked up the guts to ask his Flower Girl to dance yet. That's when I saw her.

Daisy stood with her back slumped against the far wall of the gymnasium. Despite all the nearby groups of girls chatting away, she was there by herself, staring out at the dance floor with that same distant expression from earlier in the night. I squeezed through the crowd to make my way over to her. I just couldn't stand seeing that frown on her face any longer.

"Hey Daisy."

"Oh, hi Paulo." Daisy managed a weak smile to greet me. "Why aren't you out there having fun and dancing?"

"I'm taking a little breather. These slow songs are always so sappy and girly anyway."

"I guess they are," was her uncharacteristically subdued response, lacking the cheery optimism that everyone came to expect from Daisy.

"Hey, is something up? I've noticed you've been acting kinda strange tonight."

Daisy let out a sigh. "I've just been worrying about Mikie."

"Oh." Of course it was about him. "He never showed up, did he?"

"What if something happened to him? What if he got hit by a car on the way over here, or what if he got kidnapped, or—"

"Daisy, chill. I'm sure he's fine. He probably just got caught up reading one of his lame books again."

"I know, but…" Daisy hesitated before continuing. "This is going to sound really childish and selfish, but ever since I heard that Lucy wasn't going to be here, I was _really_ looking forward to this dance. I thought that I'd get the chance to have Mikie all to myself, that we could finally spend some time together without Lucy always stealing away his attention. All I could think about for the past couple of weeks was how to convince him to slow dance with me, and how magical it would be if he said yes." Daisy sighed as she stared out at the dance floor. "I know it's just a silly fantasy and it wouldn't have done anything to change anything, but just sharing a moment like that with him would have been enough to make tonight special." Her eyes dropped back down to the ground. "Part of me imagines that he skipped out of tonight to chase after Lucy. Maybe he decided that being here with me just wasn't worth his time. I'm… I just feel so..." Daisy paused.

"Unwanted," I said.

Daisy suddenly wrapped her arms around me and buried her face into my chest, letting out a few muffled sobs. Me and my big mouth. I was about to apologize for my remark, but she interrupted.

"Why does Mikie always ignore me? What's wrong with me, Paulo?"

Taken back by her sudden outpouring of emotion, I was still standing stiffly, my arms at my sides because frankly, I didn't really know what to do. But her anguished cries and those familiar emotions in her voice melted away that stiffness. I brought my arms up and wrapped them around Daisy in a reassuring embrace. I leaned my head forward, nuzzling it against her soft hair, and into her ear I said:

"Absolutely nothing."

Daisy paused her crying and lifted her head from my chest. I placed my hands on her shoulders, and she released her embrace of me so that she could lean back and look up at me.

"Absolutely nothing is wrong with you Daisy," I repeated. "I don't know what Mike's deal is, but look, you're the nicest, sweetest, smartest girl I know. If Mike can't see that, well, then that's his loss. Because someday you'll meet someone else – someone better than Mike, someone who appreciates who you are – and you'll make him really happy. And Mike'll be missing out because he can't see how frickin' amazing you are."

Daisy stared up at me and although she was no longer sobbing, a rivulet of tears still flowed down her face.

"Look, Mike and Lucy aren't even here and we're letting all their stupid drama ruin this evening," I continued. "Well screw them. Why should we let them keep us from having a good time? C'mon Daisy, for just one night, let's forget about them, pretend they don't exist. Let's kick all that aside and just enjoy tonight for what it is."

I offered my hand to Daisy. "So whaddya say?"

"You're asking me to dance? But what about all the other girls you were dancing with earlier? I don't want to ruin your fun tonight just because I'm—"

"Daisy," I interrupted her, "forget about them. You're the only girl I want to dance with right now."

Daisy's face broke into a smile as she wrapped her arms around me once again. "You're the best, Paulo."

"Hey, c'mon," I said, wriggling free from her grasp. "Let's dance."

I led her out toward the middle of the gymnasium amongst the other dancing couples, and we turned to face each other. Uh, ok, so here we go. To be perfectly honest with you, I'd never really slow danced with anyone before, so I was at a loss for what to do. I started by placing my hands on her waist because that's what the guy's supposed to do, right? I glanced over at the couple next to us just to make sure. Daisy responded by wrapping her arms around my shoulders.

Ok, so far so good. Now we just needed to start moving.

As we began dancing, I focused on trying to keep time with the music, looking down at my feet to make sure they were moving properly and that I wouldn't accidentally trip or step on her toes. Don't screw this up, Paulo. Daisy's counting on you to make this night special.

After I think I started getting the hang of everything, I looked back up at Daisy. Unlike before, she was no longer staring off into the distance with that sad look on her face. No, she looked more like her normal cheery self. She looked happy. We exchanged a smile wordlessly.

Man, this is kinda weird. I mean, dancing with Daisy wasn't bad or anything, but being this close to her, holding like this, I wasn't really used to treating her and thinking about her in _that_ way. Yeah, we were really close friends and she was a girl and I was a guy, but I guess the thought never really crossed my mind. I mean, she wasn't just another pretty face. She was Daisy! She was the first friend I made in Roseville, the first person here that I felt I could open up to. She was like a sister to me. Besides, she had always been crushing on Mike, and I had always had my eye on Lucy. But now—

My mind was so caught up in those thoughts that I tripped over my own feet and stumbled into Daisy. I scrambled trying to regain my balance, but Daisy's reaction to my clumsiness was to just wrap her arms snugly against me.

My wild flailing instantly ceased as I felt her soft body press against mine. Wow. Ok, I guess that works too. I regained my footing and followed suit, wrapping my arms around her lower back. We were so close, I could feel the contours of her body against mine, hear her soft breath as it ruffled through my fur, and smell the faint floral aroma from her perfume. I smiled as her stray whisks of hair tickled me beneath my chin.

"Wow, I never noticed how puffy your fur was," I remarked.

"Hey, don't make fun of me like that."

"No, I mean that in a good way," I quickly replied. "It's really soft and comfortable."

"Aw, thanks Paulo."

As we held onto each other, slowly rocking back and forth to the music, I closed my eyes, just wanting the savor the moment – to commit those sounds, smells and feelings to memory. As I reopened my eyes and looked out into the crowd, I immediately saw David staring out at us, mouth agape.

Oh God, I'm never going to hear the end of this from him. David finally noticed me looking back at him. A wide grin spread across his face as he shot out a thumbs-up.

I just rolled my eyes back in response and turned my attention back to Daisy. The music was beginning to fade, and I began to feel a little disappointed. Inwardly, I chuckled. Wishing the slow song would last longer? Man, maybe all this thinking about Daisy is starting to turn me into a hopeless romantic too.

As the DJ transitioned to a more upbeat song and the crowds of student began to rush back onto the dance floor, Daisy and I slowly released our embrace. As we pulled apart, Daisy grabbed onto my arm and gave it a gentle tug, as if she wanted to tell me something. I bent over so that she could whisper something into my ear, but instead, I felt her lips give me a peck on the cheek.

"Thanks for being such a sweetie tonight."

"I, er, you're, er, I mean…"

"You're blushing!" Daisy giggled.

I quickly regained my composure. "Yeah, well, it's just for tonight. I got a reputation to keep up, ya' know."

Daisy looked confused by my reaction at first, but then she replied with a knowing smile. "Don't worry, you're secret's safe with me – just like you and Alegria."

"Man, you're not going to let me forget that."

"Nope," she replied. "Just like how I'm not going to forget tonight either"

I smiled. "So you're having a good time now?"

Daisy nodded, but suddenly a funny smile crossed her face as she peeked behind me. "Is that Kizuna asking Davie to dance?"

I spun around to see Kizuna dragging David away from the punch bowl and onto the dance floor. "Oh man, I've got to see this!"

I looked down at Daisy and offered my arm to her. She looked back up with me, and with the sweetest smile on her face, wrapped her arm around mine. Arm-in-arm, we walked off together to rejoin our friends.

The rest of the night went rather uneventfully (aside from David getting thrown out of the window, but that's another story). There was no magic, no fairly tale moments. And no, neither David nor I got laid. But, you know, I'm okay with that. Despite all the signs saying otherwise, tonight was not a night when dreams came true. No, tonight was something better – it was real.


End file.
